Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
The Schmooze

Lorin Maazel Remembered as Conductor, Friend of Israel

Lorin Maazel, cerebral conductor — who died aged 84 on July 13 from complications of pneumonia — was a presence in my columns not only because of his international renown and as conductor of the N.Y. Philharmonic, but also because of his support of Israel’s cultural and humanitarian institutions.

At the January 23, 2003 joint Israel Philharmonic and New York Philharmonic Orchestras Gala benefit, New York mayor Michael Bloomberg welcomed the black tie audience with: “In New York you get a great deal, two for one! Two conductors — Zubin [Mehta] and Lorin [Maazel] —and two mayors” — a reference to his Tel Aviv-Jaffa counterpart, mayor Ron Huldai.

“It’s the first time in twenty years that both perform together — a symbol of our love for each other, our cities, our countries and our peoples,” said Bloomberg.

While both orchestras, on their feet, performed thrilling renditions of “Hatikvah” and “The Star Spangled Banner,” Huldai touted New York and Tel Aviv-Jaffa as “standing for diversity and tolerance” adding: “We have always valued music and not the sounds of war…. We have one objective — to keep playing even with gas masks on.”

With Mehta conducting Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony and Maazel conducting Mahler’s First Symphony, I remember my amusement at the Yiddish-sounding German program notations for Mahler’s opus — “langsam shleppen” (literally “drag slowly”). But, on a serious note, what was shocking to the guests were the rifle-toting police and sharpshooters surrounding Tavern on The Green’s huge tent for the post-concert dinner because of the presence of a significant number of Israeli diplomats. Inside the tent Mehta schmoozed and joshed with the guests — a cool Maazel accepted compliments from admirers.

At the January 20, 2007 Israel Philharmonic Orchestra Benefit Concert for Meir Panim Relief Center in Israel, as Maazel came out on stage at Carnegie Hall’s Isaac Stern Auditorium, someone behind me quietly hummed the refrain from the 1950’s hit “You Gotta Have A Little Mazel.” After a flawless rendition of Beethoven’s Leonore Overture No. 3 which was followed by a standing ovation, the audience was informed that Meir Panim was “the biggest, not-for-profit food and aid organization of its kind in Israel benefitting largely secular Jews… often Russian as well as Ethiopian immigrants while also serving non-Jews — Arabs, Druze, Bedouins.

A most poignant memory — and my last sighting of Maazel — was at the December 2008 America-Israel Cultural Foundation’s Aviv Award Celebration held at Jazz at Lincoln Center Rose Theater. Award honoree Maazel declared: “There is nothing more distressing as arriving at an age when they begin to give you prizes and honors.”

Music director of the New York Philharmonic, Maazel mused: “I think I am no different than my colleagues who perform… complain… move into the next day-after-day… season-after-season…” After accepting the Aviv award from pianist “Jonathan Bliss” — himself a winner of the 2005 Leonard Bernstein Award — Maazel walked off the stage and notwithstanding thunderous applause — did not return for an extra bow.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse..

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.